Tracking the Asian-American Consumer
While the U.S. apparel industry has been seeing a lot of its business migrate to Asian countries over the years, many American apparel companies have great opportunities to sell to Asian consumers at home, said Los Angeles-based apparel-industry consultant Victor Kim during a seminar at MAGIC International in Las Vegas.
Kim, president of knitwear and trimmings maker and consultancy Cherish International, said understanding Asian-American consumers, manufacturers and suppliers could be profitable.
Citing U.S. Census data, Kim said Asian Americans constitute the fastest growth segment of the domestic market. The Asian-American population is progressing at a 5.3 percent annual clip compared with 3 percent for Latino Americans and 1.6 percent for African Americans, he said. Though current census data showed that Latino Americans now outnumber African Americans as the largest minority segment in the United States, Kim said Asians will soon lead that category.
The purchasing capacity of Asian Americans, he added, is about $101 billion annually. Younger consumers fuel those purchases—33 percent of the 3.6 million Asian Americans are under 21 with a median age of 31.
Kim said many of the largest U.S. retailers and apparel producers are paying attention to Asian-American buying trends.
“Asian Americans are not only consumers here—they are windows to their homelands,” said Kim. “We have a large population of native Koreans who come here and bring U.S. fashion back to Korea. Companies like Wal-Mart, which has 1,200 international stores, know that and track those purchases so they have an idea of what to sell in their overseas stores.”
Wal-Mart has opened an export office aimed at identifying U.S. products that will appeal to Wal-Mart customers in other nations, said Kim.
Other companies, such as Bisou Bisou, now have more international business than domestic business, Kim said. Those on the move in Asia include surfwear marketer Quiksilver, which is set to open several new stores in China, and Barneys New York, which will open its third store in Japan in October 2004.
Tracking trends in the Asian-American market can also prevent missteps as retailer Abercrombie & Fitch found out last year when it released a “Wong Brothers” T-shirt depicting what many consumers considered to be a stereotypical image. The shirt drew thousands of protesters to Abercrombie & Fitch stores across the country.
“They don’t buy into stereotypes,” said Kim. “They like the U.S.-bred brands like Old Navy.”
U.S. denim, graphic T-shirts and vintage clothing have also been big draws in Japan and other countries, he added.
California has been a key source for overseas Asian buyers and consumers, as well as for Asians living in the United States, said Kim. According to census data, Asians make up about 20 percent of the population of San Francisco, 11 percent of the population of Los Angeles and about 10 percent of the population of San Diego. The buying power in these three cities alone is more than $20 billion, he said.
“The main message is that we have a big trade imbalance [with Asian nations], and we will have a larger presence in Asian countries in the future, so we have to utilize the buying power that Asian consumers have,” said Kim. —Robert McAllister
